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Danish

### The Subordinate Clause Rule: Adverbs Before Verbs

In Danish, central adverbs—words like **altid** (always), **aldrig** (never), **ofte** (often), and **også** (also)—usually come *after* the verb in a normal main clause. 

However, in **subordinate clauses** (dependent clauses starting with words like *at*, *fordi*, or *hvis*), there is a strict word order rule: the central adverb must come **before** the finite verb.

Notice how the adverbs **altid** and **aldrig** step right in front of the verbs **kommer** and **sover** in these **at** (that) clauses:

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### Cause and Condition: Fordi and Hvis

The same rule applies when giving reasons with **fordi** (because) or setting conditions with **hvis** (if).

Here is a new adverb to practice with:

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Notice in the example above how *sjældent* comes right before the verb *arbejder*. Also recall the V2 rule: because the sentence starts with a subordinate *hvis*-clause, the main clause that follows must invert its subject and verb (*kan vi* instead of *vi kan*).

Let's look at one more example using **ofte**:

{{item:1174682}}

### Expressing Opinions and Reactions

Placing the adverb before the verb in subordinate clauses is an essential habit to build, as you will use this structure constantly when reacting to situations, stating requirements, or commenting on behavior.

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Subordinate clauses with adverbs

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite nouns and the copula (-en, -et, er)

Indefinite articles (en, et)

Present tense verbs and word order (-r)

Plural subject pronouns (vi, I, de)

The verb to have (har)

Yes/No questions

Wh-questions (hvad, hvem, hvor)

Main clause negation (ikke)

Regular noun plurals (-er, -r)

Short noun plurals (-e)

Definite plurals (-ne)

Neuter adjective agreement (-t)

Plural adjective agreement (-e)

Adjectives with indefinite nouns

Adjectives with definite nouns (den / det / de ... -e)

Numbers 1 to 10

Numbers 11 to 20

Counting by tens to 100

Expressing age (er ... år)

Genitive possession (-s)

Singular possessives (min, din)

Third-person possessives (hans, hendes)

Plural possessives (vores, jeres, deres)

Reflexive possessives (sin, sit, sine)

Singular object pronouns (mig, dig)

Plural object pronouns (os, jer, dem)

The infinitive marker (at)

The modal verb can (kan)

The modal verb want to (vil)

The modal verb must (skal)

Negating modal verbs

Inversion after adverbs

Prepositions of position (i, på)

Prepositions of direction (til, fra)

Days of the week (mandag, tirsdag...)

Months of the year (januar, februar...)

Telling time (hel, halv, kvart)

Coordinating conjunctions (og, men, eller)

Subordinating conjunctions (at, fordi)

Subordinate clause negation

Commands (køb, vent, spis)

Zero-ending neuter plurals

The Human Body: Head and Face

The Human Body: Limbs and Torso

Personal Hygiene

Digital Life

Tools and Hardware

Emergency and Safety

Common Materials

Money and Payments

Short answers (Ja, det gør jeg)

Greetings (hej, godmorgen, farvel)

Thanks and apologies (tak, undskyld)

Jobs and nationalities (Hun er lærer)

Likes and dislikes (kan godt lide)

Somebody and something (nogen, noget, ingen)

How much? (meget, lidt, mere, nok)

With, by, over and under (med, ved, over, under)

Ordinals and dates (den første april)

Wishes for every occasion (tillykke, god bedring)

Times of day (om morgenen, om aftenen)

My day (stå op, gå i seng)

Past tense I: -ede and -te (i går)

My new hat (min nye hat, små, gamle)

Past tense II: irregular verbs (var, havde, gik)

Reacting in a conversation (nå, det lyder godt)

The family and irregular plurals (mænd, børn, fødder)

In the shop (Hvad koster det?)

Demonstratives: that and those (den, det, de)

Demonstratives: this and these (denne, dette, disse)

Adverbs of manner (-t)

Comparing things (-ere, end)

Superlative adjectives (-est)

Definite superlative adjectives (-este)

Irregular adjective comparison

Comparing long adjectives (mere, mest)

The reflexive pronoun (sig)

Reflexive verbs

Reciprocal verbs (-s)

Deponent verbs (-s)

Past opinions (syntes)

Present perfect tense with regular verbs (har... -et/-t)

Present perfect tense with irregular verbs (har...)

Present perfect tense with movement (er...)

Past perfect tense (havde / var...)

Question	Answer
to expect	forvente
I expect that he always comes.	Jeg forventer at han altid kommer.
Do you expect that they never sleep?	Forventer du at de aldrig sover?
the behavior	opførslen
The behavior is a problem because she often laughs.	Opførslen er et problem fordi hun ofte griner.
I think that the behavior is bad if he also forgets the answer.	Jeg synes at opførslen er dårlig hvis han også glemmer svaret.
typical	typisk
It is typical that the child never sleeps at night.	Det er typisk at barnet aldrig sover om natten.
Do you think that it is typical?	Tror du at det er typisk?
rarely	sjældent
I am angry because my sister rarely listens.	Jeg er sur fordi min søster sjældent lytter.
If they rarely work, we cannot help them.	Hvis de sjældent arbejder, kan vi ikke hjælpe dem.
annoying	irriterende
It is annoying that she always talks loudly.	Det er irriterende at hun altid taler højt.
We think that the noise is annoying.	Vi synes at støjen er irriterende.
to accept	acceptere
the requirement / the demand, the claim	kravet
Do you accept the requirement?	Accepterer I kravet?
The requirement is that they always clean up.	Kravet er at de altid rydder op.
If they do not accept the requirement, I will be angry.	Hvis de ikke accepterer kravet, bliver jeg sur.
in agreement	enig
I agree because she never listens.	Jeg er enig fordi hun aldrig lytter.
They do not agree if he rarely pays.	De er ikke enige hvis han sjældent betaler.
to surprise	overraske
It surprises me that you always arrive late.	Det overrasker mig at du altid ankommer sent.
Does it surprise you that they never win?	Overrasker det dig at de aldrig vinder?
dissatisfied	utilfreds
The customer is dissatisfied because the food is always cold.	Kunden er utilfreds fordi maden altid er kold.
We become dissatisfied if you also forget the meeting.	Vi bliver utilfredse hvis du også glemmer mødet.